the explorers journal - The Explorers Club

The Explorers Journal recently caught up with STS-
125 astronaut Mike Massimino, 47 and a native
New Yorker, to talk about his mission’s record-setting
extra vehicular activity (EVA)—at 36 hours and
56 minutes, the longest, and perhaps most complex
in NASA history—and what the future holds
for one of astronomy’s most precious assets. This
recent foray into space was Massimino’s second
Hubble servicing mission. During his first, aboard
STS-109 in March 2002, he and his colleagues
upgraded the instrument’s power supply; installed
a new camera, new solar arrays, and a new cooling
system; and replaced a series of gyro stabilizers.
EJ: From what we hear, the mission set a new
record for endurance.
MM: We did. Four of us—John M. Grunsfeld, Michael
T. Good, Andrew J. Feustel, and myself—carried out
the repair during five spacewalks over a five-day
period. We set a record of 35 hours 55 minutes on
STS-109. On this mission, my two walks totaled 15
hours, 58 minutes. I guess you could say it was a
couple of long days at the office.
EJ: We assume you were under a bit of pressure
to “get it right”
MM: We had practiced the maneuvers over and
over again in the pool over the course of two and
a half years. Every time we missed something or a
task took longer than initially estimated, we would
go back and refine the maneuver or the tool kit used
to carry it out. I constantly kept a mental checklist
of all of the things that could go wrong. The idea
was to minimize the number of things that could go
wrong. And then, of course, there is the worry that
you accidentally break something. Can you imagine
coming back and having to tell your family, your colleagues,
the whole world, “Yeah, that’s me, I’m the
guy who broke the Hubble,” or having astronomy
books that said, “We would know the answer to
this important such-and-such a question if it weren’t
for Mike screwing up the Hubble…” I guess you
could say it adds an element of pressure.
EJ: How hard was it to carry out the work
MM: It is probably far more tedious than difficult.
One access panel had 117 small fasteners that had
to be removed—and then put back. When you have
so much to do, you have to focus on just one task at
a time, removing one bolt, disconnecting one wire.
You cannot get ahead of yourself or allow yourself
to get distracted. If you do, it will bite you.
EJ: After all of that practice, did you encounter any
surprises once the actual repair was underway
MM: At the beginning of the first spacewalk, one of
the handle bolts on the wide-field camera, which
we were replacing, just wouldn’t give. Ultimately,
we decided to just break the handle off. I have told
Jeff [Hoffman] it was “all his fault” since he put
the camera handle bolts in so tightly during the
first Hubble servicing mission in 1993. Actually,
he just did his job. I just had to undo his overly
efficient job. On the second spacewalk, one of
the replacement gyros wouldn’t fit inside the telescope.
Luckily we had another one that did fit.
EJ: What all did the STS-125 mission accomplish
MM: We put in two new scientific instruments:
a cosmic origins spectrograph, which collects
ultraviolet photons, and a new wide-field camera,
which will allow us to see even deeper into the
universe. We repaired two failed instruments: the
space telescope imaging spectrograph and the
advanced camera for surveys. We also put in new
batteries, new gyroscopic stabilizers, a new computer,
a refurbished guidance sensor, and replaced
the insulation around several instruments. We also
installed a device to aid in de-orbiting, when the
telescope is eventually decommissioned.
EJ: So after all of your hard work, what is the future
of Hubble
MM: I think we will get another ten years out of
Hubble, because of the repairs and because of what
we have learned about rationing its power and rotating
the use of its gyros so they will last longer. There
are six [gyros] on Hubble but it can be manipulated
using only two. Hubble has been a great project to
be associated with as the information it is providing
is for everyone, not just for a privileged few.
EJ: Tell us about the IMAX film.
MM: When I did my first spacewalk eight years ago,
I came back thinking, “It just doesn’t get any more
beautiful than that.” Because the shuttle orbits the
Earth every 90 minutes, the transition from day to
night is really dramatic. The view of the Earth is fantastic.
It is as close as one can get to seeing heaven,
only better. With this most recent mission, I feel the
same. I just wanted the whole world to see what I
had the privilege of seeing. Now they can.
the explorers journal